Update on VeniceUnchained.org

This morning, I received an email from Venice Unchained – an organization whose mission is to ensure that no chain businesses open on Abbot Kinney Blvd or Oceanfront Walk. Below is the email update on their boycott against Pinkberry and the progress they are making in general.

~keri~

Dear Venice Unchained Supporter,

Good news! The Pinkberry boycott is meeting our goals of heightening awareness and gaining publicity. We were featured in an article on the front page of the California section of the Sunday L.A. Times. We were also on the Channel 7 news and the July 26th Argonaut. Potential chain stores are becoming aware that this neighborhood doesn’t want them, and is organized to resist them.

Bill Rosendahl’s office is supporting us by focusing the Planning Department’s attention on this issue. The City Planning Dept. is researching our proposed ordinance and will communicate their findings in September at a public meeting. We are doing our own research with legal and planning experts so that we will be prepared to respond. We will let you know when the meeting is scheduled.

We believe it is critical that we gain as many supporters as possible, and we’d like you to help us. There are 40,000 people who live in Venice; let’s get every single one of them to sign the petition!

Here’s what you can do:

Print out the OUTREACH FLYER and put one on the doorstep of every house on your block or neighborhood. It’s good exercise! (We have found an 85% response rate when we’ve done this in the past.) To avoid duplicating efforts, email us what blocks you intend to cover and we’ll confirm.

P.S. We asked the owner of the new building going up on the corner of AK and Venice Blvd. whether the rumors are true that a Starbucks and/or a Pizza Hut will be moving in there. Here’s what he wrote: “By way of this email, I confirm that we have no intent to include either a Starbucks or a Pizza Hut in the project at the corner of Venice & Abbot Kinney. I hope this puts to rest any concerns you might have.”

Yo! Venice! was started by two friends, Keri and Bret, to create a communal blog for residents of Venice Beach California.
In today’s world of RSS feeds, they felt that a blog would be a perfect place for people to let others know how they view the Venice Beach community through words and pictures. It is hoped that this site will become a communal blog with many people submitting stories for all in the community to share.